The Man of Infamy
BY KEN D. TRIVETTE
There are several names that have gone down in infamy: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Jim Jones, and others. But no name is so despised as that of Judas. Parents name their children Paul, Matthew, Peter, Andrew, Thomas, John, and Mark, but never Judas. Ironically, the name itself was a good one. It means "praise". But Judas took that heavenly name and turned it into a hellish one.Mark 14:10-21,43-50 Our daily vocabulary reflects the notoriety of this tragic disciple:
·Judas tree, a purple-blossomed tree, is believed to be the kind on which he hanged himself.
·The stockyard animal used to lead its fellow animals to the slaughter is termed the Judas goat.
·A seemingly friendly act that turns out to be a stab in the back is called the Judas kiss.
·Judas Priest is a profane substitute for Jesus Christ, an exclamation of disgust or irritation.
·A Judas hole is a peephole in a prison door that permits a person to see into the cell without being seen by the prisoner inside.
In his painting of hell, Dante takes us to the lowest part of hell, where the sorriest and lowest sinners are, and right in the center there he puts Satan with Judas in his mouth. The implication is that of all the sins ever committed, what Judas did was the worst.
In the plays "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "The Passover Plot", Judas is made to look like a misunderstood hero. But Jesus declares flatly that he is "a devil" and "the son of perdition".
Judas was an interesting character. He was a disciple. He was the treasurer of the Twelve. By common consent he handled the bag into which were all gifts and from which came all expenditures. Yet, that which he is best known for is that he was the betrayer of the Lord Jesus.
Quite possibly, Judas had originally thought that he was a true disciple of Christ. But he was never saved. Might you be similarly deceived, thinking that you're a child of God but are really not? Let's consider the movements of his betrayal of Jesus as we find them outlined in Mark 14 and see if they might apply to you.
I. The Betrayal Arranged
We read in verses 10-11, "And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him."What a happy day it must have been to the chief priests when someone finally came forward to help them stop the Lord Jesus, especially since the person that came forward was one of the most unexpected. He was an apostle of Christ's.
An artist was commissioned to paint in a Sicilian cathedral a mural depicting the life of Jesus. When he got to the point where Jesus, at twelve years old, was brought to the temple by His parents, he found a boy whose radiant innocence made a perfect model for the Christ child.
More than a decade later, the artist had developed the mural to the events of the holy week. Except for Judas, he had all the major figures completed. One afternoon a man whose face showed the results of excessive drinking staggered into a tavern where the artist was sitting. Immediately the artist considered him the perfect model for the remaining figure. Leading the man to the cathedral, he pointed to the bare space on the wall and asked him to pose for Judas. The derelict broke out in sobs. Pointing to the Christ-child, he said, "Don't you remember me? I was your model for Him when I was twelve."
Judas went from being a representative of Christ to becoming the betrayer of Christ. The great question is why? Let's look at two reasons:
Selfish interest. We read in verse 11, "they promised to give him money," and in Luke 22:4, "(he) communed with the chief priests and captains." The word "communed" reveals that he bargained with them. Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Covetousness lay behind his decision to betray the Lord.
Time and time again Judas had heard Jesus speak on the subject of covetousness. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." And "Beware of covetousness." When Mary had taken the expensive perfume and poured it on the feet of Jesus, it was Judas that described that act of love as a waste.
Judas sold Jesus out for money. What is even more tragic, though, is that many a person who calls himself a Christian has sold out Jesus for far less.
A farmer drove his truck onto the grain elevator scales, then sneakily walked on the scales himself to add his weight to that of the grain. The operator noted the total weight on the
scales credit form. Handing it to the farmer, he remarked, "You've just sold yourself for $10."What trifles people sell Jesus for todaya job, a bit of pleasure, a friendship, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a few dollars, a beer, drugs. As Jerry Vines said, "Jesus is on the bargain counter of life and is sold very cheaply in this world today."
Satanic influence. We read in John 13:2, "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him." Also in verse 27, "And after the sop Satan entered into him." It went from Satanic suggestion to Satanic possession. Satan's influence over him led him to his devilish deed.
Is it possible Satan is trying to get you to commit some immoral deed, perform some wicked act, or yield to some sinful pleasure?
In the Greek legends there is the story of the sirens that sat on the rocks and sang with such sweetness that they lured mariners to their doom. One such sailor by the name of Ulysses sailed past these rocks, and the lure was so great that he had himself tied to the mast of the ship. Such is the work of Satan. He seeks to lure us away from God. His influence had led many down a path of sin and destruction.
II. The Betrayal Announced
Beginning in verse 17, we find Jesus and His disciples sitting down for their last meal together. In the process of this meal, the betrayal was announced. The scene describes two announcements of the betrayal.In the word of God. We read in verse 21 "The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him." The betrayal of Jesus by Judas had been foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures.
For example, we read in Psalm 55:12,13:
For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.We also read in Psalm 41:9: "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." If Judas had wanted to, he could have read about himself in the Scriptures.By the Son of God. We read in verse 18, "And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me." His betrayal was no surprise. He who knows all things knew what was about to happen. He that knows the hearts of all men knew what was in the heart of Judas. Jesus always knows what is in our heart!
Notice how the disciples reacted to what Jesus said. We read in verse 19, "And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?"
I believe the reason they all began to ask if it was them was because they all knew the capabilities of their heart. Every believer needs to understand that there is no sin they are not capable of committing.
Matthew 26:25 tells us that even Judas asked, "Master, is it I?" What hypocrisy! He knew what he had done and was going to do, but he acted as if he was innocent. Yet, so often our lives are marked by such hypocrisy. We pretend to be one kind of person, but in reality we are someone else.
An interesting statement is found in John 13:30: "He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night." The real darkness was in his soul, not in the skies. There is always darkness in the soul of the one who rejects Christ and betrays Him.
III. The Betrayal Accomplished
Judas left the meal early. Later when the meal was over, Jesus left with Peter, James, and John and made His way to Gethsemane. The silence of that night was suddenly broken by the cries and approach of a great multitude. It was then that Judas betrayed Jesus with his infamous kiss.A kiss of identification. Judas identified Jesus with a kiss. We read in verses 43-46:
And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him.John 18 describes the soldiers as a band. That's about six hundred men. Counting the chief priests, scribes, elders, and others that this group would have attracted, we can reasonably assume that the crowd that approached Jesus numbered around a thousand.The word "kiss" is used twice. In verse 44, where he told them that he would identify Jesus with a kiss, the ordinary word for kiss is used. It was customary for a disciple on meeting a rabbi to put his hands on the master's shoulders and to kiss him. But in verse 45, where it describes Judas kissing Jesus, the word used was one that describes a kiss of a lover for his or her beloved. It was a lover's kiss.
I have great difficulty in finding the right words to describe this moment. That Judas would deny Jesus is terrible, but that he would betray Him with a kiss of affection is beyond comprehension. What depths of hypocrisy! How much more wicked can one be?
In John 18:5 we read, "And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them." Judas had not only chosen sides, but he is found standing with the very ones that wanted to crucify Christ.
With what crowd are you standing? At your school, at your place of work, in the world, where do you stand and with whom do you stand?
We are familiar with the song "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus." It was inspired by a Rev. Dudley Tyng.
Dr. Tyng was at his home on his farm and decided he would go out to the barn where they were shelling corn. While there, the sleeve of his jacket got caught in the cogs of a wheel as a mule was turning the corn sheller. Dr. Tyng's arm, being drawn into the sheller, was literally pulled out at the roots. Within a few hours he was dead. Shortly before he died, his father asked him, "Dudley, hundreds of your friends and co-workers are waiting news from you. What shall I tell them?" His answer was, "Father, tell them to stand up for
Jesus." Those were his last words.
Stand up, stand up for JesusYe soldiers of the cross!
Lift high His royal banner
It must not suffer loss.
The story is told of a large convention that was being held. The building and it's three balconies were full. One of the speakers began tearing down the name of Jesus. He went on and on about what an impostor Jesus was. All of a sudden, way up in the third balcony, a young girl stood up and began singing, "Stand up, stand up for Jesus," Others around her began singing with her. Soon all of the third balcony was singing. Then the second joined in, and the first, and soon the whole building was triumphantly singing at the top of their voices: "From victory unto victory, His army shall He lead. Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed."After all that our Lord has done for us, why would we not stand up for Him? Let there not be a Judas once named among the family of God.
The kiss of condemnation. The kiss that Judas placed upon the cheek of the Lord Jesus condemned him to an eternal hell. We read in verse 21, "but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born."
Judas began feeling guilty over what he had done. He tried to return the money, but it was refused. Finally, we read that he went out and hanged himself. Acts 1:25 says that he went unto "his own place". What place was that? His place in hell. He had kissed Heaven's Door and still went to hell.
You can follow Jesus with all your heart and go to heaven or you can betray Him and go to hell. The eternal destiny of every person depends entirely on whether Jesus is indeed His Lord and Savior.
One fall a visitor at West Point Military Academy noticed the number 12 placed all around the campus on large banners. Asking for an explanation, he was told: "A football team has 11 players. There are 11 men playing the game for Army. The number 12 is symbolic of the 12th man, standing for the rest of the student body, whose support is as important for victory as the team itself."
When Judas died, there were 11 men left. Will you be the 12th? o
Rev. Ken D. Trivette is Pastor of Temple Baptist Church, 3204 Clio Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407.